The present disclosure relates to gaming systems and devices. More particularly, the present disclosure is a method and system in which a plurality of plays is offered on plurality of games for a single wager, wherein the math model of a first game differs from the math model of a second game with the difference not being obvious before any games are played.
Gaming machines, such as a slot machine, are well known and enjoyed. Casino games, including slot machine games, video poker games, video keno games or video blackjack games are an important source of income for the gambling industry. Accordingly, casinos (including brick-and-mortar and online casinos) constantly search for new gaming strategies and features to provide additional incentives for players to continue play and to distinguish play at their establishments from competitors in the industry.
One of the most popular gaming machines are slot machines that typically fall within two broad regulatory categories: (a) Class III and (b) Class II. Class III devices are often referred to as “Vegas-Style” games and are noted by having purely random game outcomes determined on the fly and independent of prior outcomes. The present disclosure can be applied to Class III gaming machines.
Class II devices, on the other hand, which can be found in certain Native American Casinos in North America whose jurisdictions do not allow “Vegas-style” Class III devices, do not directly and randomly generate game outcomes. Rather, Class II devices usually use an indirect method for outcome selection based upon (a) multi-player bingo; or (b) pull-tabs (whether physical or electronic). In the case of bingo-based outcomes, game outcomes displayed to the player, such as a slot game display, are mapped from the bingo card pattern associated with that game display. In the case of pull-tab-based outcomes, all game outcomes are predetermined by the game provider, similar to how a state lottery will preprint one set of outcomes for a scratcher game. Similar to a scratcher game, the predetermined outcomes for a given pull-tab-based Class II game are randomized, and once a given outcome is sold to a player that particular outcome is removed from the pool of available outcomes. Relative to the specific implementation, an additional randomization step may be applied in terms of the selection of groups of outcomes and/or each specific outcome from the same pool. The present disclosure can also be applied to Class II gaming machines.
In terms of slot machine implementation, there are three fundamental types: (a) mechanical slots; (b) electro-mechanical slots; and (c) video slots, including slot games offered on the Internet and on mobile devices. Mechanical slots are rarely found outside of museums or personal collections. If found in a casino, these are usually for display purposes only.
Electro-mechanical slots resemble mechanical slots insofar as they feature physical reels which are computer controlled via stepper motors or any suitable motion control technology. Because the outcomes are computer generated, a given set of slot reels can offer innumerable different gaming propositions relative to the method of outcome generation which most often involves some variation of reel-strip weighting as described in the Telenes U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,419. The present disclosure can be applied to electro-mechanical slots.
Video-based slots or “video slots” use one or more electronic display devices to show game outcomes to the player. Like with electro-mechanical slots, Video Slot outcomes are computer generated. However, unlike electro-mechanical slots, video slots offer a wider array of spinning reel depictions because a video-based display is not limited to the 22 symbol positions per slot reel as typically found in slot machines with physical reels. Though video slots can replicate the outcome generation mechanisms used in electro-mechanical outcome generation, other mechanisms are possible as well such as (a) weighted reel strips with fewer or greater than 22 reel strip positions; (b) uniformly weighted reel strips (usually much larger than 22 reel strip positions); (d) reel strips dynamically populated for each spin such as described in the Super Stacks patent disclosure US 20120083327; or (e) any other suitable mechanism. The present disclosure can be applied to electro-mechanical slots and video-based emulation of electro-mechanism and video slots.
There are many different reel spin display mechanisms possible with video slots. These can include: (a) use of highly blurred animation from which specific symbols in specific order cannot be readily observed; (b) use of animation from which specific symbols in specific order can be readily observed, the animation being of the reel strip used in outcome generation; (c) use of animation from which specific symbols in specific order can be readily observed, the animation being of a reel strip constructed purely for display purposes and which does not exactly match the reel strips used in outcome generation; or (d) use of a real-time random symbol selection mechanism for both selection of symbols to be displayed during the reel spins and symbols for the final game outcome from which general symbol frequencies may be observed; or (e) any other suitable mechanism. The present disclosure can be applied to any of these reel spin animation mechanism.
Class III video reel slot machines found in land-based casinos in the US that use of animation from which specific symbols in specific order can be readily observed, the animation being of the reel strip used in outcome generation, typically execute the following some variation of the following procedures each time a reel game is played:
STEP 1: randomly select a stopping position for each reel strip, where: (a) for unweighted reels, each position is uniformly likely; and (b) for weighted reels/a table of weights for each reel strip position is used to map a uniformly selected random number into a reel strip position; and (c) the reel stop position for each reels is independently determined
STEP 2: start reel spin animation using the symbols assigned just above the current reel strip position (referred to as roll-off);
STEP 3: at some point prior to a given reel spin stopping, the symbols selected for display during the reel spin are those that appear just below of the final symbols that are to land as the final outcome (referred to as roll-in).
Just like their real-world equivalent, virtual reels also loop such that a continuous linear chain of symbols is formed with the symbol in the last position of an array of slot symbol indicators effecting acting as the symbol to appear before the last position of an array of slot symbol indicators. Relative to the specific implementation, the transition of symbols selected in STEP 2 to symbols being selected in STEP 3 can occur any time between the start of a reels spins and its finish. In some implementation, the transition occurs when there are a certain number of additional symbols to spin by before the reel stops spinning, on a reel by reel basis. In some other implementations the transition occurs for all reels at the same time. At one extreme, STEP 3 is bypassed altogether with the symbols from the final position appearing after whatever the current symbol from STEP 2 is. At the other one extreme, STEP 2 is bypassed altogether and the very first symbol to appear at the start of a new spin is k number of symbol positions away from the specified ending position, where the later a given reel is to stop spinning, the larger the value k needs to be. Such implementations are not typically used in client/server based implementations (discussed further below) because the client does not have access to the identity of the final reel strip positions.
Every Class II and Class III gambling game can be mathematically characterized in terms of its mathematical Expected Value. Known in the gaming industry as “payback percentage”, “return to player”, or simply “RTP”, the mathematically expected value for a given game reflects its long-term expected ratio of (awards paid out)/(wagers taken in). For a given Class II pull-tab or electronic-pull-tab game, as well as for a fixed pool of lottery scratch-off tickets, the RTP across the entire pool of tickets is known exactly. For any other given gambling game, the actual RTP tends towards the theoretical RTP over long-term play across multiple players. In other words, more plays of a given game at a given wager size, the more likely the actual RTP of that game will converge to its theoretical RTP.
Some slot games are offered in a multiple reel set format where the player is able to play at least two slot games in a single proposition. In some embodiments, the reel sets are entirely independent. In some variations, the game theme between reel sets varies. In some variations, the reel sets are based on the same theme but incorporate one or more differences in the symbols used and/or the corresponding payouts. In some variations, the reel sets use all the same game and math elements. In some embodiments, there is an opportunity for interdependence between reel sets such as with a “wild rollover” feature, or “tumble thru” feature, or a communal triggering feature, etc. In some embodiments, the player has the option of playing less than all reel sets in the same proposition. In some variations, optionally enabled reel sets are enabled/disabled in a predetermined order relative to the number of reel sets the player wishes to play. In other variations, the player is able to enable or disable specific reel sets. In some embodiments, the player cannot play fewer than all available reel sets.
Secondary or bonus games are also known in gaming machines. The secondary or bonus games usually provide an additional award to the player. Secondary or bonus games usually do not require an additional wager by the player to be activated. Secondary or bonus games are generally activated or triggered upon an occurrence of a designated triggering symbol or triggering symbol combination in the primary or base game. For instance, a bonus symbol occurring on the payline on the third reel of a three reel slot machine may trigger the secondary bonus game. When a secondary or bonus game is triggered, the gaming machine generally indicates this to the player through one or more visual and/or audio output devices, such as the reels, lights, speakers, and video screens.
For the vast majority of slot games, the main or primary game is a non-interactive experience for the player. After selecting wager size and/or wager configuration, the player's only decision is whether or not to play; the player's only input is to activate a new play of the game. In the case of games with AUTOPLAY functionality, a given player also has the option to activate a series of plays of their given game and if so activated, the option to subsequently disable the completion of the series if the entire series has not already been played out and if the series has not terminated due to a terminating event such as insufficient balance; triggering of a bonus; triggering of an especially large award or any other terminating event defined by the given game.
Many secondary or bonus games, on the other hand, are known to offer varying amounts of player interactivity. In some bonus game implementations, the player must press a button or touch the display screen in order to start the bonus play. In some bonus game implementations, the player must make blind selections or picks in order to reveal prizes and/or to progress with the bonus game. In some bonus implementations, the player is offered additional gambling propositions in which the player can optionally participate. In some bonus implementations, the player is provided the choice of play experience. In some bonus implementations, the player is provided the choice of bonus play attributes such as choosing a specific combination of free spins at a certain award multiplier or from a certain range of award multipliers. In some bonus implementations, the player is provided with an opportunity to control a video game, the outcomes of which lead to varying prize revelations. In some bonus implementations, the player is required to make strategic selections that can affect their bonus outcome such as selecting whether the next unrevealed standard playing card has a rank higher or lower than the rank of the most-recently revealed standard playing card.
Presently, the jurisdictional body for Nevada, the Nevada Gaming Control Board, is considering regulation and policy updates to better address the issue of the use of non-strategic skill in games of chance. Such non-strategic skills could include hand-eye-coordination skills (sometimes referred to as “Twitch Skill”), such as required to play video games such as Pong™ or Breakout™. Alternately or additionally, such non-strategic skills could include puzzle-solving skills (which we'll refer to as “Puzzle Skill”) not directly related to a gambling proposition selection, such as required to play video games such as Bejeweled™ or Boggle™. Video games such as Tetris™ and Missile Command™ require a combination of Twitch Skill and Puzzle Skill.
Gambling game devices encompass more than just slot machines (which are often referred to in the gaming industry as Electronic Gaming Machines). Games of chance for monetary currency and virtual currency are available on numerous personal devices, such as laptops, mobile phones, smart phones, personal digital assistant (PDA), and tablets via a networked connection such as the Internet/World Wide Web, mobile service provider networks, and casino premises closed networks to name a few. Many such implementations rely upon a client/server architecture wherein all game outcome generation occurs on a casino or game provider's central server such that a compromised client device cannot cause unearned payouts.
There continues to be a need to provide devices and game methods which offer novel game and gaming opportunities.